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William Penn 

Founder of Pennsylvania 

By 
LUCY B. ROBERTS 




PENN IN ARMOR, 1666— Aged 22 

Painted in Ireland 

Presented by his Grandson to The Historical Society 

of Pennsylvania 



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The Religious Society of Friends 

(Quakers) 

302 Arch Street, Philadelphia 
1919 



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WILLIAM PENN 



Founder of 
Pennsylvania 



By LUCY ef ROBERTS 



Issued by 
The Religious Society of Friends 

(Quakers) 

302 Arch Street, Philadelphia 
1919 



iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiniiiiiii 



WILLIAM PENN 



CHAPTER I. 



It was during the stormy time of the great 
Civil War in England that WilHam Penn was 
iDorn, in 1644, at his father's house on or 
near Tower Hill in London. His boyhood, 
too, was spent in stirring times. This gave 
an intelligent boy like William Penn oppor- 
tunity to hear much about public affairs, 
especially as his father was an admiral, and 
had served in the navy under Charles I., be- 
fore that monarch lost his kingdom and 
afterwards his life. Admiral Sir William 
Penn was an important man, and very am- 
bitious, especially for his son. He had gained 
a great many honors. When he was thirty- 
one he was made Vice-Admiral of the British 
Navy, and was very active under King 
Charles II. when he came to the throne. 

William Penn was a bright, active boy, 
fond of sports, and enjoying a joke as much 
as any. And yet he thought of other things 
besides fun and worldly advantage, for he 
tells us, in one of the books which he wrote 
years afterwards, that one day when he was 
a little boy he was sitting alone in his room 
thinking, when a strange feeling of being 



comforted came over him, and he felt as 
though the Lord God was right there with 
him. He thought that from this time he 
loved the Lord and wished to serve Him, 
although there were times afterward when he 
seemed to be careless about it. 

We do not know much about how he spent 
his boyhood, except that he went to Chigwell, 
in Essex, to school until twelve years old, 
and also had a tutor at home. One thing 
that happened when he was eleven years 
old he seems to have remembered very par- 
ticularly. Thomas Loe, a Quaker preacher, 
was in the neighborhood of his home in 
Ireland, and Admiral Penn thought they 
ought to do as the Bereans whom the Bible 
tells about, and hear him before they judged 
him. So the Friend was invited to their 
house, and when he had opportunity he 
preached to them with such earnestness that 
one of the servants cried out loud, and the 
Admiral shed tears. His son William sat 
there and wondered, "What if they would 
all be Quakers! " 

Life at Oxford, 1660-1662. 

When he was sixteen he was sent to Christ- 
church, Oxford, as a gentleman commoner. 
He was energetic and thorough, both at study 
and in all the athletic sports of the day, 
being particularly fond of fencing. He made 
excellent friends there, and enjoyed friend- 
ship with a number of them all his life. 

6 



One day, while a student, he went to a 
meeting of Friends, and there heard the 
very same Friend, Thomas Loe, who had 
impressed him so much when he was a boy 
at home. 

All William Penn's desire to walk more 
closely with God seemed to be again 
aroused, and he and some other students 
held little meetings by themselves. They 
also refused to go to the other religious 
services, partly because they were often 
under the care of people unfitted for such a 
serious office, and also because they thought 
students should not be compelled to worship 
in a prescribed manner. For this they were 
fined. Charles II. sent a command that a 
surplice should be worn by every student; 
this tried William Penn and some others 
much, as they thought it an unfair inter- 
ference, and they showed their indignation 
so strongly that they were expelled. His 
father was very angry not only because his 
son was expelled, but because he did not 
like the Quaker influence. He tried to per- 
suade William to give it up. At first he 
was kind and gentle with him; but when 
his son refused to yield, the father resorted 
to blows and sent him out of the house. 

Studies in France, 1662-1664. 

William had a loving mother who pleaded 
for him, so that his father, who was really 
6 



an affectionate man, relented, and tried an- 
other plan. He sent his son to France with 
some people of rank. They went first to 
Paris, where there was much to tempt him, 
but he seems to have resisted the evil. 
Thence he went to Saumur and studied there 
in the Protestant College. 

He also became an excellent French 
scholar, and gained the polish of manner for 
which the French are noted. Pepys tells us 
that he was at that time "a most modish per- 
son, grown a fine gentleman." 

One evening, while in Paris, a man at- 
tacked him for an imagined affront. Penn, 
like all the young men of the time, was 
armed; he defended himself and defeated 
the man. When he found he had the man 
at his mercy he let him go without injury. 
Years after, he spoke of this incident, say- 
ing it showed "what envy, quarrels and mis- 
chiefs have happened among private persons 
upon their conceit that they have not been 
respected" in some small matter of form. 

"Suppose he had killed me," he added, 
"or I, in my defence, had killed him. I ask 
any man of understanding or conscience if 
the whole round of ceremony were worth 
the life of a man, considering the dignity 
of his nature and the importance of his life 
with respect to God his Creator, himself and 
the benefit of civil society?" 

7 



Leaving France, he travelled into Italy to 
study its language and literature; but from 
Turin he was recalled by his father, in 1 664, 
when twenty years old, in order to help in 
the affairs of the family, his father having 
received notice that he was to command the 
fleet, under the Duke of York, against the 
Dutch. 

He now began to study law till the plague 
broke out. When the Dutch war began, he 
went with his father, but returned with let- 
ters for the King, 1665. 

To his father he thus describes the inter- 
view: 

"I took post to London and was at London 
the next morning by almost daylight. I 
hastened to Whitehall [the King's residence] , 
where, not finding the King up, I presented 
myself to my Lord of Arlington. At his 
Majesty's knocking he was informed- that 
there was an express from the Duke, at 
which, earnestly skipping out of bed, he 
came only in his gown and slippers, who, 
when he saw me, said: 'Oh, it's you? How 
is Sir William?' He asked how you did 
several times. He was glad to hear your 
messages." 

Within a year of this time gay London 
was saddened by the plague, the horrors of 
which would take pages to describe. Wil- 
liam Penn naturally felt deeply impressed by 

8 



it, and he seemed again to desire to turn 
to a more earnest manner of living. 

We have seen that he had remarkable op- 
portunities to gain power at court, on ac- 
count of his father's intimacy with the Duke 
of York, the heir to the crown. The Admiral 
wanted him to make use of this influence, 
and becoming alarmed at his son's more 
thoughtful manner, he hurried him off to 
Ireland to be with the Duke of Ormond. 
William found a better company of young 
nobles here than in England, where there was 
so much evil. For a time he entered heartily 
into their gaiety. He was only twenty-two, 
lively and handsome. It is thought that the 
portrait of William Penn in armour was 
painted at this time, 1666. 

While Penn was in Ireland a mutiny arose 
among the soldiers at Carrickfergus, and he 
was sent to help to subdue them. He did 
this so well that he was reported to have 
"acquitted himself in that action to his no 
small reputation." 

William Penn Becomes a Quaker, 1667. 

His father now wished him to take charge 
of his Irish estates, which he did so well 
that the Admiral was delighted. On one oc- 
casion when in Cork on business, he again 
heard the Friend, Thomas Loe, who had 
visited his father's house in his boyhood. He 
preached on the subject, "There is a faith 

9 



which overcometh the world, and there is a 
faith which is overcome by the world." At 
this time William Penn received a most 
earnest call to love and serve his Heavenly 
Father, and he became a Quaker, 1667. At 
another meeting in Cork he and others were 
arrested and taken before the Mayor; but 
when the latter saw William's dress he 
thought there must be some mistake, and 
offered to release him. Penn was brave 
enough to refuse, for he knew all had been 
unlawfully arrested, and he would not accept 
his liberty and leave his companions in prison. 
He wrote to Lord Orrery, President of the 
Council, asking his help, which was given. 

After procuring release from prison for 
those who were arrested with him as well 
as for himself, he had a still greater difficulty 
io face. His father having heard of this 
experience sent for him, and, finding such a 
change in him, became very angry at this 
disappointment of all his hopes, and again 
sent him from the house. His devoted 
mother helped him, and at last his father 
consented to have him supported at home, 
but would not see him. 

For some time after William Penn became 
a Friend he dressed just like other men at 
that time; he also wore his sword. One day 
William Penn met George Fox and asked 
him whether it was right to wear a sword. 

10 



George Fox replied, "I advise thee to wear 
it as long as thou canst." Soon afterwards 
they met again, and George Fox asked, "Wil- 
liam, where is thy sword?" Penn replied, 
"Oh, I have taken thy advice, I wore it as 
long as I could;" which shows that he soon 
thought it wrong for a follower of Christ to 
carry a weapon intended for killing his 
fellow-men. 

When twenty-four years old William Penn 
became an earnest preacher. He also wrote 
much on religious subjects. Indeed, during 
his entire life he wrote pamphlets and books, 
when he had opportunity, on such subjects 
as pure religion, freedom of conscience, and 
peace among nations. "No Cross, No 
Crown," "Some Fruits of Solitude in Reflec- 
tions and Maxims," and "Rise and Progress 
of the People called Quakers," are the best 
known of his books. The first-named was 
written in 1669 while he was a prisoner in 
the Tower of London, where he vvas im- 
prisoned because some of his statements were 
misunderstood, and kept without trial for 
seven months, until he was unexpectedly dis- 
charged by the King. 

Trial of William Penn and William Mead. 

In 1670, the Conventicle Act, passed in 
1664, was renewed. It was intended to sup- 
press all religious meetings conducted in any 
other manner than according to the practice 

11 



of the Church of England. The Friends con- 
tinued their meetings as though there had 
been no such law, as they felt it was an un- 
just one, and they thought they ought to 
obey God rather than man. Going to one 
meeting in London, they found the doors 
closed by soldiers; so they gathered about 
the door, where, after standing in silence 
some time, William Penn began to speak. 
Soon he and William Mead were arrested by 
constables. It was charged that they did 
"with force and arms unlawfully and tumul- 
tuously assemble and congregate themselves 
together to the disturbance of the peace of 
the said Lord and King" — "to the great 
terror and disturbance of many of his liege 
people and subjects," etc. There were many 
mistakes in this. The date was wrong, the 
Friends were not armed, and only the sol- 
diers had used force. As it had all been 
in the street and not in any conventicle or 
meeting-house, the Conventicle Act did not 
fit the case; so there was no law against it. 
William Penn's knowledge of English law 
enabled him to see this, and also to speak in 
his own defence. The trial began on the 
eleventh of Ninth month (September) and 
was adjourned till the thirteenth. 

The bench would not listen long, and he 
was hurried away to the bale dock*, with 

* An enclosed place, at the extremity of the court- 
house, in ■which he could neither see nor be seen. 

12 



William Mead, who had also spoken in his 
own defence. The Recorder then began to 
charge the jury. William Penn heard a part 
of this charge, and raising his voice so as to 
be heard at a distance, said: — 

**I appeal to the jury, who are my judges, 
and to this great assembly, whether the pro- 
ceedings of the court are not most arbitrary, 
and void of all law, in endeavoring to give 
the jury their charge in the absence of the 
prisoners. I say it is directly opposite to 
and destructive of the undoubted right of 
every English prisoner, as Coke on the chap- 
ter of Magna Charta speaks." 

After this the prisoners were taken to their 
cells. The jury were sent out, and, after an 
hour-and-a-half, returned. The foreman, 
Thomas Veer, was asked: "Is William Penn 
guilty of the matter whereof he stands in- 
dicted in manner and form, or not guilty?" 
The foreman answered: "Guilty of speaking 
in Gracechurch Street." 

The Recorder was displeased, and said, 
"You had as good say nothing"; and, later 
on, "Gentlemen, you shall not be dismissed 
till we have a verdict that the Court will 
accept, and you shall be locked up, without 
meat, drink, fire or tobacco; you shall not 
think thus to abuse the Court: we will have 
a verdict by the help of God, or you shall 
starve for it." 

13 



The jury were kept for two nights with- 
out food, drink, or any convenience. On 
the 15th they were again called and gave a 
verdict of "Not Guilty." Edward Bushel was 
one of the most determined of this noble 
jury. 

William Penn and William Mead were 
sent to Newgate Prison, as well as all the 
jury. The jury were soon released, and, 
following Penn's advice, brought an action 
against the Mayor and Recorder for false 
imprisonment, and won the day. An able 
lawyer lately wrote of this trial: "It is an 
instance not simply of a Quaker pleading 
for the rights of conscience but it is that of 
an Englishman contending for the ancient 
and imprescriptible rights of his race." 

Reconciliation with His Father. 

While William Penn was in prison his 
father became ill and anxious to see him. 
He privately paid the fine for William and 
his companion, and they were released. As 
he drew near the end of his life the 
Admiral saw that there were other things 
more important than the honour of the navy 
or the glory of the Court, He became more 
loving and tender, and he and his son were 
more united in all things. His greatest dis- 
appointment during the prime of life had 
been the religious disposition of his son; but 
his greatest comfort towards the end of his 

14 



life was seeing that son living the life of 
self-denial he had so opposed, and dedicating 
himself to the service of God. 

One day, soon after his father's death, 
William Penn was preaching, when he was 
again arrested, and the same magistrate who 
had been so harsh with him before sentenced 
him to six months' imprisonment at Newgate. 

His Marriage. 

When he was set at liberty, he paid a short 
religious visit to Holland and Germany. On 
his return, in 1 672, when in his twenty-eighth 
year, he married Gulielma Maria, the daugh- 
ter of Sir William Springett, who had been 
an officer in the Parliamentary army. She 
was beautiful, talented, and good. William 
Penn's friendship for her soon became love, 
and he won her to be his wife. They lived 
for a time at Rickmansworth, a few miles 
from Chalfont, where her home had for- 
merly been with her mother and her step- 
father, Isaac Penington. This was a beauti- 
ful marriage; she helped him in his earnest 
desires and made life more happy for him. 
The few months after his marriage were one 
of the few holidays William Penn ever took 
in his life. 

In 1677 William Penn again travelled in 
Holland and in Germany. 

Among the interesting people he met dur- 
ing his journey was the Princess Elisabeth of 

15 



the Palatinate, daughter of the King of 
Bohemia and grand-daughter of James I. She 
welcomed him kindly to her home, and with 
several of her friends held a number of 
religious meetings, where he spoke to them 
earnestly and reminded them of the impor- 
tance of serving the Lord with the whole 
heart. She also arranged a meeting with 
her servants, whom he addressed. Her 
earnest letters to him afterwards prove that 
this visit did not result in a light impression, 
but was a real help in deepening the spiritual 
life. 



16 



CHAPTER II. 

Proprietorship and Colonisation of 
Pennsylvania 

William Penn, as a young man, had 
always felt an interest in America, then a 
new land of adventure and promise. He 
had known much about some of the settle- 
ments there, for Lord Berkeley had sold his 
share of New Jersey, amounting to half of 
that State, to a man named John Fenwick, 
in trust for Edward Byllinge, and when there 
was difficulty between these two — both 
Quakers — William Penn settled it amicably, 
and was made a trustee. This gave him 
much to do. He made terms with Lord 
Carteret, the owner of the other half of 
New Jersey; and then almost alone he pre- 
pared the constitution of that province. The 
knowledge gained in this experience was very 
valuable to him when, in 1680, he began to 
form that plan for the government of Penn- 
sylvania which was his greatest achievement. 

Admiral Penn had advanced money to 
the Government for naval purposes, and at 
his death £16,000 was due to him. William 
Penn petitioned the Privy Council that this 
sum might be paid by a grant to him, by 
17 



the King, of land adjoining the territories of 
Maryland and New Jersey. After much diffi- 
culty and delay this was granted, and the 
patent was executed in 1681. 

This was the immediate occasion of his 
great venture. Penn wrote to a friend that 
he "so desired to obtain the new land as 
that 1 may not be unworthy of God's love, 
. . . and that an example may be set 
up to the nations, . . . that there was 
room there [in America] for such an holy 
experiment." 

The deed of grant made William Penn the 
owner or proprietor of Pennsylvania, a coun- 
try as large as England. This deed was on 
parchment, "each line underscored with red 
ink and the borders georgeously decorated." 
It is now in the Division of Public Records 
in the State Library at Harrisburg, in Penn- 
sylvania. 

First Visit to Pennsylvania, 1682-1684. 

In Eighth month (August), 1682, this 
brave man, with a moral courage grander 
than that of the soldier, sailed from Deal, 
on the ship "Welcome," to the land of his 
earnest care. There were about one hundred 
passengers, mostly Friends from Sussex, to 
which county he had moved in 1 676. 

No doubt he felt enthusiasm, but he was 
leaving his dear wife and children, and a 

18 






: A ,uu. . (/ J\^ /C:^ A^^ ^-r^^f^ 

Autograph Letter of William Penn to his Children, just 
before leaving England on his First Voyage to Penn- 
sylvania, on the Ship "Welcome," 1682. 



19 



voyage was then a matter of much more risk 
than it is now. The ship had a "prosperous 
voyage of three months," though some of 
the passengers had small-pox. William Penn 
was helpful, "and contributed to the necessi- 
ties of the sick." 

What did he look like, does some one ask? 
The pictures and statues we so frequently 
see, representing him as being very stout and 
old, and with a large curly wig, were not 
taken from life and may not be quite correct. 

The noble face in the painting of him 
when he was twenty-two, which is supposed 
to be authentic, must have developed strong 
lines and manly expression, and we can 
imagine this hale man of thirty-eight years, 
just in the prime of a noble manhood, as 
he stood on deck while the vessel was gliding 
up the Delaware River, Eleventh Month, 
(November) 6lh, to New Castle. 

The Swedes and Dutch, who had been 
there for some time, as well as the Friends 
who had lately preceded him, were glad 
to welcome him. 

He soon laid out a plan for a city between 
the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, and 
called it Philadelphia, meaning "brotherly 
love. 

He desired the commissioners to lay ofl 
ten thousand acres for the boundaries of the 
town. If this had been agreed to, it would 

20 



have included nearly all the suburbs which 
have since been added to the city; but some 
of the commissioners thought this too large, 
and it was limited to one mile north and 
south on the Delaware, and reaching back 
to the Schuylkill River two miles. 

After attending to a few such matters, he 
went to New York, but returned soon. 

Treaty with the Indians. 

He then made that famous treaty of which 
tradition tells, though there are no contem- 
porary records. It was made under the great 
elm at Shackamaxon, now called Kensington, 
in the northeastern part of Philadelphia. An 
Indian village was situated there at that time. 

Although this land belonged to him as 
granted by Charles II, for money which the 
King owed him, yet William Penn thought 
the Indians ought to be paid for it, and this 
had been done in part before he came to 
America. 

The Indian council fires were burning, the 
foliage had on its autumn dress, and under 
the elm tree were the chiefs of the Lenni 
Lenape tribes, without weapons, for no war- 
like arms were allowed. The most prominent 
among the chiefs was the great sachem 
Taminen, spoken of as one of nature's noble- 
men. As they waited there, a barge ap- 
peared on the river "floating the broad 
pennant of the Governor." Near the helm 
21 



was William Penn, only different from the 
other Friends in having a blue netted scarf 
around his waist. Taminen, as they drew 
near, put on his chaplet, surmounted by a 
small horn, the emblem of kingly power, 
and then informed the Friends, as they 
landed, that they were ready to hear the 
Governor. 

William Penn began his address to them 
(so we gather from the accounts that have 
come down to us), by saying: — 

"The Great Spirit rules in the Heavens and 
the Earth. He knows the innermost thoughts 
of men. He knows that we have come here 
with a hearty desire to live with you in 
peace. We use no hostile weapons against 
our enemies; good faith and good will 
towards men are our defences. We believe 
you will deal kindly and justly by us, as 
we will deal justly and kindly by you. We 
meet on the broad pathway of good faith 
and good will; no advantage shall be taken 
on either side, but all shall be openness and 
love. 

Then he read them the treaty which told 
*hem : — 

"We will be brethren, my people and your 
people, as the children of one Father. All 
the paths shall be open to the Christian and 
the Indian. The doors of the Christian shall 

22 



be open to the Indian, and the wigwam of 
the Indian shall be open to the Christian." 

The final pledge was: — 

"We will transmit this league between us 
to our children. It shall be made stronger 
and stronger, and be kept bright and clean, 
without rust or spot, between our children 
and our children's children, while the creeks 
and rivers run, and while the sun, moon and 
stars endure." 

The Indians evidently felt the sincerity of 
the Governor's speech and heartily gave the 
belt of wampum as a pledge of friendship. 
"We will live," they said, "in love with 
William Penn and his children as long as 
the moon and stars shall endure." 

This pledge was not bound by any oath, 
nor by signatures or seals, and the terms 
seem to be written nowhere but on their 
hearts. "There they were written like the 
laws of God." It was of this treaty that 
Voltaire, the famous French writer, said 
that it was "the only treaty between these 
people and the Christians that was not rati- 
fied by an oath and was never infringed." 

The famous elm tree under which the 
treaty was made blew down in 1810. An 
interesting story is told about it. During 
the war of the Revolution, General Simcoe, 
the British Commander, was quartered near, 
and his soldiers cut down many of the trees 
23 




24 



for fuel; but the General placed a sentinel 
under the tree, so that not a branch of it 
should be hurt. 

A scion of this tree was in the southeast 
corner of the Friends' Meeting House 
grounds on Twelfth Street, above Chestnut 
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Others 
are at the Quaker Colleges of Haverford and 
Swarthmore. 

The Assembly and the Constitution. 

The next step of the Proprietary was to 
call an Assembly, that they might agree 
upon rules of government. Those which 
William Penn had prepared in England were 
passed with a few alterations, and nineteen 
added to them, making fifty-nine in all. 
Among them were the following: All persons 
who confessed one Eternal God to be the 
Creator and Ruler of the world, and who 
lived peaceably and justly, were not to be 
molested for their religious persuasion or 
practice. All officers, treasurers, judges, 
sheriffs, etc., were to be such as professed 
faith in Jesus Christ, and were to be sober 
and honest. All children of the age of 
twelve were to be taught some useful trade 
or skill. There were to be only two capital 
offences — murder, and treason against the 
State. All prisons were to be considered as 
workshops, where the offenders might be 
industriously, soberly and morally employed. 
25 



Afterwards Penn divided the land into 
counties and appointed sheriffs to each, and 
then called for an election for members to 
sit in the Council and the General Assembly 
in the following spring. 

Soon William Penn was at liberty to meet 
Lord Baltimore, who seemed very polite. The 
latter had received the grant of Maryland, 
and had mostly peopled it with Roman 
Catholics; but he nobly allowed liberty of 
conscience to all who came to live in his 
province. The two Proprietaries found it 
was going to take some time to settle the 
differences about a boundary line, and so 
parted until spring, when travelling would 
be easier; but the difficulty was not settled 
for a long time. 

Penn Returns to England. 

The Governor spent almost two years in 
Pennsylvania and did much good. At the 
end of that time there seemed fear that 
Lord Baltimore's province was going to 
encroach upon Pennsylvania, as there was 
some question as to limits granted, which 
could only be settled by returning to Eng- 
land. There had also arrived from England 
sad news of hundreds of Friends in prison. 
William Penn felt that he was needed there, 
and hastened back, the voyage this time 
only taking seven weeks. 

26 



Soon after his arrival in England Charles 
II. died and was succeeded by the Duke of 
York as James II. This new King made no 
effort to hide his preference for the Roman 
CathoHc Church; but he continued very- 
friendly with William Penn, so that many 
became jealous, while others asked him to 
use his power with the King for them. This 
he did, when the cause was good, for others 
as well as for Friends. He pleaded with 
the King to be tolerant in religious matters, 
and in 1687 the King issued his Declaration 
of Indulgence which freed eighteen hundred 
people from prison. This was much gain, 
but the law was still there. Soon after this 
the King ordered that informers should not 
be noticed nor the law enforced. All this 
was mostly attributed to Penn's influence 
with the King. 

In 1688 the second Declaration of In- 
dulgence was issued. "While repeating the 
provisions of the first it differed from it in 
boasting of the appointment of Catholics to 
civil and military command." Even the 
Dissenters refused to receive liberty and tol- 
eration by an unconstitutional act and at 
such a price. Seven Bishops, headed by 
the Archbishop, presented a petition against 
it. They were sent to the Tower, were tried 
and acquitted — to the great joy of the 
people. 

27 



William Penn, being intimate with the 
King, shared in the blame for the King's 
conduct. 

The people were by this time fully con- 
vinced that James, who was a Roman Cath- 
olic, as was also the Queen, intended to 
re-establish the power of Rome in the coun- 
try and to act without regard to the Consti- 
tution. Events moved rapidly. William of 
Orange, son-in-law of James, was invited 
by many of the most influential men to 
come and secure the Crown. A large num- 
ber flocked to his support. King James was 
overwhelmed; and although he had formerly 
been a courageous man, he soon gave up 
his kingdom and followed his wife and son 
to France. Penn lost a friend in King 
James, who always seemed to cherish 
a real regard for his straightforward adviser. 

Public Cares and Troubles in England. 

We have not forgotten the band of people. 

In that delightful land which is washed by 

the Delaware's waters, 
Guarding in sylvan shades the name of 

Penn, the apostle. 

Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream 
the city he founded, 

And the streets still re-echo the names of 
the trees of the forest. 

While kingdoms have passed from one 
rule to another, these people have spent the 
time mostly in quietness and increasing pros- 
perity. 

28 



Once they were alarmed by the report 
that an uprising was being planned by some 
of the Indians; when Caleb Pusey, one of 
the Council, informed them that he would 
"go to where the Indians were said to be 
assembled, provided the Council would 
appoint five others to go with him unarmed! " 

They started on horse-back, and instead 
of meeting five hundred Indian warriors, as 
they had been warned, they found the old 
king lying quietly on his bed, the women at 
work in the fields, and the children at play. 
The king asked what they had come for? 
They told him the report which an Indian 
woman had brought them. He said: "The 
woman ought to be burnt to death"; they 
had nothing against the English. " Tis true 
there are about fifteen pounds behind yet of 
our pay from the land William Penn bought, 
but as you are still on it and improving it 
to your own use, we are not in haste for our 
pay, but when the English come to settle it, 
we expect to be paid." He added: "As 
God has given you corn, I advise you to get 
it in, for we intend you no harm." 

About this time William Penn wrote them 
of his desire to be with them, and said: 
"Depend upon it, Pennsylvania is my 
worldly delight and end of all places on 
earth." But he could not go to them, for 
the revolutions in the kingdom had made 

29 



his affairs quite critical. He was accused 
of having private communication with 
James II. in France, with intention of bring- 
ing him back to England; so it would not 
be wise for him to go to Pennsylvania, as 
it would give his enemies opportunity to say 
that he had fled to escape punishment. 

Very soon he was called before the Lords 
of the Council, when he said he had done 
nothing but what he could answer before 
God and all the princes in the world; that 
King James was always his friend and his 
father's friend, and in gratitude he was the 
King's friend, and did ever, as much as in 
him lay, influence him to his true interest. 

Nothing was proved against him, but he 
was "required to give sureties" for his 
appearance. At the next term he was 
cleared in open court. 

In 1 690 Penn was again arrested on a 
charge of holding secret correspondence 
with the former King. On his release Wil- 
liam Penn thought he could return to his 
beloved Pennsylvania ; but King William had 
gone over to Ireland, where James had pos- 
session; and Queen Mary, in her anxiety, had 
eighteen persons arrested who, she feared, 
were in conspiracy with King James. Among 
them was William Penn, who was sent to 
prison for some time; at his trial nothing 
was proved against him, and he was liberated. 

30 



Again he prepared to cross the ocean, but 
within a few days of sailing he learned that 
William Fuller, who was afterwards called 
by Parliament a cheat and an imposter, had 
accused him, and a warrant was out against 
him. Messengers had been sent to arrest 
him at the funeral of his friend, George 
Fox; but they made a mistake in the hour 
and so missed their purpose. He concluded 
that it would not be wise for him to attempt 
to leave England while under suspicion, 
neither did it seem necessary for him vol- 
untarily to give himself up to the authorities, 
when he knew that he was innocent of the 
crime they accused him of; so he settled 
down to a life of seclusion in London. 

Here his friends visited him, and he wrote 
a number of pamphlets and larger works, 
one of them on the desirableness of peace 
and the truest means to obtain it — to wit, 
justice and not war. In this he proposed 
that as each country had some kind of 
Parliament, so each should send a certain 
number of delegates to a European Diet, to 
be held yearly or more frequently, if neces- 
sary, to settle matters of dispute, and that 
they should vote by secret ballot. This seems 
a forerunner of The Hague Court. 

His enemies in Pennsylvania sent reports 
to England that Pennsylvania was going to 
ruin because of the poor management of its 
31 



Governor. King William believed the reports 
his ministers brought him, and gave the gov- 
ernment of the colony to Colonel Benjamin 
Fletcher, Governor of New York. Because 
of this act, William Penn had absolutely no 
authority in Pennsylvania. He bore this 
trial patiently, although it was a great dis- 
appointment, for he had hoped to give to 
the world a perfect pattern of government 
and a virtuous and happy people. 

The new Governor tried to make the col- 
onists help in preparations for war, which 
they positively refused to do. In the short 
time he had control they paid him more in 
taxes than William Penn ever received. 
There was cause for rejoicing in Pennsyl- 
vania when, in I 694, William Penn's govern- 
ment was restored to him by the King and 
Queen. But some domestic matters and 
probably lack of money prevented him from 
hastening to America. Yet for the next five 
years Pennsylvania enjoyed great prosperity. 

In the meantime there had been a won- 
derful change in public opinion in favour 
of William Penn, and his time was divided 
between preaching to crowded audiences 
throughout England and the care of his 
family. 

Death of William Penn's Wife. 

William Penn's crowning trial came when 
his sweet wife gradually failed in health, 

32 



and passed from earth in 1693, just after 
she had the comfort of knowing that the 
King had expressed his wish that her hus- 
band should feel himself entirely at liberty. 

Two years after the death of his wife, 
he married, at the Friends' Meeting House, 
Bristol, Hannah Callowhill, an excellent and 
highly esteemed woman and a very helpful 
wife to him. This was in Third Month (March), 
1696. 

Second Visit to Pennsylvania, 1699-1701. 

At last, in 1699, after seventeen years of 
absence, the Governor of Pennsylvania pre- 
pared to return to the land of his choice. 
His family, except his son William, sailed 
with him on the ship "Canterbury." He 
took with him also a young Quaker school- 
master, James Logan, and made him his 
secretary. James Logan was born in Ire- 
land, removed to Bristol, where he taught 
in a Friends' school, and was twenty-five 
when he accompanied William Penn. He 
showed such marked capacity for business 
and administration that his services became 
indispensable, and when Penn returned to 
England in 1701, he "not only continued 
him as Secretary of the Province, but gave 
him a general charge both of the govern- 
ment and property." 

For forty years he held high office, looked 
after the Penn estates, and was the great 
33 




a; 00 

'i § 

m -a 

c c 

PLi CO 



34 



leader of the Proprietary Party of the As- 
sembly. Like Penn, Logan knew how to 
win and keep the confidence of the Indians. 
It was largely due to him that friendship 
and alliance between them and the Prov- 
ince was so long maintained.* 

When William Penn reached Philadelphia, 
he took a house, known as the Slate-roof 
House. Here his son John was born; he 
was called the American because he was 
the only child of William Penn born in 
America. William Penn received from the 
people a promise of faithfulness to the King 
and the Proprietary. In reply he urged the 
maintenance of virtue and justice, and the 
passing of a law to prohibit the sale of rum 
to the Indians, also one with reference to 
tl:e marriage of negroes. 

Soon the family moved to Pennsbury 
Manor, on the banks of the Delaware, nearly 
opposite Burlington, New Jersey. The manor 
estate reached nearly two miles along the 
Delaware, on ground purchased from the 
Indians. The Proprietor had sent out from 
England, walnut, hazelnut, fruit trees, haw- 
thorn, and a variety of rare trees and roots, 
and ordered wild flowers to be transplanted 
to his garden. It is told that once the Gov- 
ernor entertained so many Indians that a 
table was spread in the avenue, and among 

* See Albert Cook Myers, Immigration of the Irish 
Quakers into Pennsylvania, 237 S. 

35 



the dishes provided were one hundred tur- 
keys, besides venison and other meats. 

Return to England. 

William Penn was not allowed to remain 
long in this land, where he had undoubtedly 
spent some of his happiest days, for he 
received word that an effort was being made 
in England to give the several Proprietary 
governments to the Crown. Before he sailed 
in the autumn of 1701, he held a Council 
for the Indians at Pennsbury Manor. A 
wonderful sight it must have been on the 
shore of the Delaware. They kindled their 
fire on the lawn and performed their dances 
around it, with songs and shouts. Before 
this they gathered in the mansion and 
renewed their promises of faithfulness. 
"They never first broke covenant with any 
people." 

Besides his public cares Penn found a 
heavy burden when he returned to England 
— the heaviest that a parent can bear. His 
son William had gone into the gay and evil 
company of the Court, and had lived a life 
far unlike that desired by his father. He 
sent him to America, and told James Logan 
to encourage him "with pleasant and good 
entertainment, little journeys, visits to the 
Indians," etc., and added: "The Lord pity 
and spare in His great mercy: I yet hope." 
But his son was always an expensive anxiety 

36 



to him, and died young, after a career of 
dissipation. 

Soon after his return the bill with refer- 
ence to Proprietary Government was de- 
feated in Parliament, yet it seemed liable to 
come up at any time in the House of Com- 
mons; it was therefore necessary for one 
so interested to remain near. 

All the time William Penn had enemies 
making trouble for him both in England and 
America. New Jersey had cast aside pro- 
prietary government and surrendered to the 
Crown. Lord Cornbury was sent there under 
the Queen. Dissatisfied people of Pennsyl- 
vania flocked to him and made trouble. 
William Penn at last became so reduced in 
money that he thought of selling his govern- 
ment. A fraudulent claim was also made 
on him by his English steward, Philip Ford. 

It did not seem right for William Penn 
to yield to these demands; indeed, he had 
not the money to do so, and the next we 
hear of him is that he was arrested at Grace- 
church Street Meeting, and imprisoned in the 
Fleet prison for debt. He was in prison 
nine months. At that time the Fords con- 
sented to yield half their claim and were 
paid the rest by Friends, who received a 
mortgage on Pennsylvania for the amount. 

Through all his troubles William Penn 
maintained his quiet trust in God. 

37 




38 



The next few year? were rather sad ones, 
except for this strong anchor, as after a 
stroke of paralysis or apoplexy in 1712 his 
mind seemed to weaken gradually, so that 
he forgot much that was passing around; 
but he always kept his loving, trustful spirit, 
until in the year 1718 he passed to that 
better country where "beyond these voices 
there is peace." His body was laid in Jor- 
dans burial-ground, without a monument. 

William Penn was earnest in his desire 
for freedom of the slaves when but few 
others agreed with him; his treatment of 
the Indians proved his wisdom in its suc- 
cess. The William Penn Charter School, 
one of the largest and best schools of the 
City or State, remains a monument to his 
enlightened care for education. He advo- 
cated placing the power of government with 
the people, at a time when he could have 
held that power entirely in his own hands; 
and this when a monarchy seemed to wise 
men to be the only way to govern. 

And in his great home, Pennsylvania, 

"His door was free to men of every name. 
He welcomed all the seeking souls who 

came, 
And no man's faith he made a cause of 
blame." 

(From the Life of Penn, No. 14, Friends' 
Tract Association, London, 1917, as adapted 
from "Quaker Biographies," Vol. L, Philadel- 
phia, 1916.) 

39 




Penn in old age — the Bevan bust 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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